The Firefighter's Appeal (Harlequin Superromance) (3 page)

This was probably her cue that the fun was over. And it had been fun, and freeing and exciting and just the tiptoe back into a male-filled world she’d been hoping for. She turned to leave.

“Don’t go.”

Lily glanced back to see him holding up one finger in her direction, bidding her to wait as he set the last drink on the counter.

“You’re busy,” she said. It was true, but she didn’t really want to go. Still, being in the way wasn’t going to do either of them much good. Garrett’s attention was a balm for her ego, no doubt. Especially with the tension that had crept in earlier to eat up her fun.

He sauntered back over, pulled a bar towel from his shoulder and looped it around her upper arm, holding her steady. The sincerity in his eyes was way more than she was prepared for. Garrett gave the towel a gentle tug, making her body lean against the bar and bringing his mouth inches from her ear.

“Not too busy for you.”

CHAPTER TWO

G
ARRETT
HAD
BEEN
in center of a raging house fire yesterday, and yet the adrenaline rush he’d felt fighting that flame didn’t compare a lick to the one Lily was giving him.

He’d seen her the minute she’d swayed into his bar a couple of hours ago; he’d had a hell of a time keeping his eyes off her so he’d quit trying. In a sea of stick-thin, cookie-cutter blondes, this tattooed beauty was a midnight dream come to life. She was tall and curvy, and the coconut bra she wore did little to hide the round sides of her breasts. The tie around her back was fashioned into a bow that accentuated smooth muscles and supple skin. A faux-grass skirt hung low on the curves of her hips—full hips that embraced a smooth, soft belly. He loved that she didn’t try to cover up her curves. The colorful tattoo sleeve, stick-straight, long black hair and red lipstick she wore only kicked his interest into overdrive.

He hadn’t been this attracted to a woman in a long time. Usually the women he flirted with, and ultimately took home, offered the bare minimum of emotional connection. He was all right with that, and, though he was always a gentleman, he tended to seek out women who were single-mindedly interested in the same thing he was: sex without commitment.

He’d been in a bit of a dry spell lately, though. The work it took to flirt and woo his way through the bar scene to find a suitable woman was getting old. Flat. Boring. He kept telling himself it was okay to step back from the dating scene. But as the weeks of lonely nights and an empty bed went by, he wasn’t sure he knew what he was holding out for anymore.

Lily had just dumped an ocean all over his dry spell. She wasn’t his normal type, but she had
fun
written all over her. Looking at the crystal lights shimmering over Lily’s hair and the lushness of her body in that Hawaiian outfit made his libido adamantly agree. But long-term? Hell, no. Marriage led to kids, a house, a dog and all that jazz. All the things that could go up in flames in the blink of an eye. No way. He’d settle for a dry spell rather than let his heart take in too much, only to lose everything.

He’d been down that road too many times now, watching people he cared about suffer tragedy. Bad things happened to good people, wasn’t that the saying? Being a fireman, he saw it all the time, even among his own men. Divorce, deaths, affairs, accidents—all the things that jacked up the cost of love. No one was immune when fate decided to play a dark game.

Lily’s eyelashes fluttered, and her scarlet-red lips parted slightly. Garrett recognized her sensuality but had a pretty good inkling that she was completely unaware of how siren-like she was—and that she probably intimidated the hell out of the male population in general. She gave off a type of Brigitte Bardot pinup allure with a hard Jillian Michaels edge. Yet, when he’d made her laugh, Lily had looked genuinely surprised—she craved the attention, though outwardly, she tried not to show it.

Women like that—the ones who wanted you to notice them but didn’t always want you to know—meant he’d had to work harder to get what he wanted. And he’d never been one to back down from a challenge.

Before he could speak, a shout burst through the room. “Bingo!” A petite woman with bouncy cinnamon curls stood on a stool, shaking her plastic coconut-covered chest with her fists in the air. A collective cheer roared through the room. The woman spotted Lily, pointed at her and damn near bounced right off her stool.

“It’s her board. She won!”

Lily put her hands out quizzically. The woman cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “You won the grand prize!”

Well, wasn’t that just his luck? Garrett ran a hand over his belly, pleased with this turn of events. He recognized Pete Ambrose, sporting a fire department T-shirt and a smile, as he approached Lily and patted her on the shoulder. Lily spun so her back was to him, and though Garrett couldn’t see her expression, he could see that every muscle in her back tensed.

“Congratulations.” Pete’s deep baritone was loud in the sudden hush of the room. “What’s your name?”

Lily didn’t reply immediately. Garrett saw Pete’s brows drop a little.

“Lily,” she said flatly.

Garrett filled a couple of drink orders, still watching Lily from the corner of his eye. From somewhere in the back of the room, a female voice shouted, “Yeah, Lily!”

Pete gave a toothy smile as a camera flashed. “The grand prize includes movie tickets and dinner reservations at Chalet de Blume—and your escort? Did you see the fire department calendar that went out this year? You’ll be going with Mr. September.” Pete winked and gestured to Garrett.

Lily turned and looked blankly at the bar. If she realized Pete was talking about Garrett, she didn’t acknowledge it in any way. Instead, her forehead wrinkled as if she was remembering something or thinking way too hard. Garrett stopped filling glasses as he tried to read Lily’s reaction. Most women would be bouncing up and down at the news. Not that he was conceited or anything, but Garrett knew he had a certain effect on women. His pose for the calendar hadn’t hurt.

Lily shook her head, cutting Pete off and causing the already quiet crowd to hush even more.

“A date with a fireman?” Her voice was uncertain, her expression dropping into a scowl. She almost looked disgusted. Pete nodded, looking just as confused as Garrett felt.

“No, thank you.” Lily pushed away from the bar and squeezed her body between Pete and the crowd. Almost instantly, the curly-haired woman was at her side, grabbing Lily’s hand. Their heads leaned low together as they walked to their table. Prickles nagged at the back of Garrett’s neck. Her sudden mood change seemed to have left a tangible chill in the air.

Something had set Lily off, and though he really shouldn’t waste time worrying about what it was, he did.

Was it possible that she didn’t know he was Mr. September? It wasn’t a secret—anyone who saw the calendar and came to the bar knew it. But she’d said she wasn’t a drinker, so maybe she hadn’t seen it, hadn’t put the pieces together.

He wasn’t ashamed of his sexy no-shirt-pose-against-the-fire-truck picture—hell, it helped sell thousands of calendars across the county. The fire department needed that money, and he was glad to do his part. He was the assistant chief of the department, and, as such, had been roped into being part of the grand prize if the winner was a woman. Take her to dinner and a movie for a good cause. Lily, apparently, hadn’t liked that idea. It felt like a flat-out rejection, though a part of him said there was more to it than that. After all, she’d seemed to like him well enough at the bar.

Rejection wasn’t something Garrett took lying down. He liked the way she moved, the way she looked, and, after talking to her, he didn’t want to give up without at least finding out why she was rejecting the prize. When she slung a purse over her shoulder and hugged her friend, Garrett knew he had to make a decision. He spotted his best friend, Mikey, out in the crowd, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled his name.

“Fill in for me. You’ve done it before,” Garrett said when Mikey came around. Before his friend could protest, Garrett set a bar towel on Mikey’s shoulder. “You owe me for grand theft Budweiser.”

Mikey ran a hand through his too-long brown hair. “Dammit.”

There were perks to owning the bar, like leaving whenever he wanted to chase a beautiful woman. Because he was pretty sure how this night would end if he could rekindle the spark he and Lily had had earlier—with some hot vertical dancing in his bed. Though he’d settle for a kiss, because those cherry-red lips had been taunting him all night. Lily was the first woman in a long time to make him want to put his dry spell out to pasture, and she’d been interested, too. He’d read that much like an open book.

Garrett pushed through the crowd as Lily disappeared out the side door. The street was deserted, one lone light pole flickering overhead. She’d just reached the sidewalk along the side of the bar when he caught up with her.

“Lily!”

She spun, surprise marking her face. Humidity settled over Garrett’s skin with wet hands as a crack of heat lightning flashed in the air. He looked up into a murky night sky and realized for the first time that it was sprinkling.

Lily didn’t speak as he approached; her hand clutched the strap of a small purse.

“You left before I could get your number.” He started to relax, then immediately cursed himself. Where had that come from? He never asked for numbers because he didn’t have to; women always beat him to it. The bucket under the bar filled with slips of paper and business cards with women’s names and numbers on them was proof of that.

The corners of her eyes crinkled as the wariness on her face deepened. “You—want my number?”

Garrett chuckled with a quick glance to the ground. “Thought I made that pretty obvious.”

Lily ran a finger through her hair before continuing on. Garrett fell into step beside her, hands in his front pockets. She gave him a sideways look, and another crack of lightning gave him a clear view of the shy smile on her lips.

They passed by the empty lot directly behind the Throwing Aces, the for-sale sign mocking him as they walked. He’d been after that lot for months, but the seller wouldn’t agree to his terms. He brushed off the thought as a waft of Lily’s perfume tickled his nose. They reached the line of trees that separated the empty lot from a competing bar. A small gazebo sat at the edge of the empty lot near the sidewalk and butted up against the trees.

Without overthinking it, Garrett gently grabbed Lily’s arm and pulled her onto the grass with him. Music from the hidden bar drifted out into the night, highlighting Lily’s light gasp as he tugged her close.

She came willingly, giving him the courage to just go with it. If she’d tensed at all, he would have backed away, but as Lily pressed against him, Garrett reveled in the fact that she was right where she wanted to be. He wanted to ask what had happened in the bar, but any questions he had flew away.

Garrett tried to hold back the deep groan that welled in his throat as he felt her soft body against him. Her perfume saturated the air and drew him in. His right arm looped around the luscious curve of her back and settled just above the rise of her ass. Maybe her chest was going faster—maybe it was his—but when he held her tighter, their breathing synchronized and their chests rose and fell together.

Yeah, he’d missed this.

Lily’s arm curved around his upper arm, her palm flattening against his shoulder blade. Her chin tipped up, her lips parted in a mix of surprise and something deeper—something that looked a hell of a lot like restrained want.

Garrett’s throat went dry. He could kiss her. Grab her chin and pull her lips to his. The music trickled into his consciousness, reawaking his plan to steal a bit more of her time. He wanted it—needed it—and he’d hold as many minutes as she’d give him. But he didn’t want to scare her off by being too forward. This was silly, but he was going with it. Anything to prolong their moments together.

“Dance with me, Lily.” She chuckled softly as he began to move her in a slow circle to the sound of the filtered music. Her hips swayed just slightly, her footsteps a little hesitant. He began a slow caress along her lower back, his fingers gently raking back and forth over her warm, silky skin. “It’s not fair, you know.”

Goose bumps rose on her skin. “What’s not fair?”

Garrett dipped her over his arm, reveling in the sound of her surprised laugh. He brought her back up so fast, her hair whipped across his chest. “You know my weaknesses and I know nothing about yours.”

“I call that ammunition.”

His turn to laugh. If he wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks flamed in a blush. It might have been the lighting from the streetlight, but he doubted it.

“Nice.” He gave Lily a spin. “No holding out now.” Garrett pulled her tight against him, his lips close to her ear. “Tell me one thing.”

A hum came from deep in her throat with a resonance that made his heart flutter. “I, ah...have a cabinet full of marshmallows?”

“Marshmallows?” Garrett spun her again to keep from kissing her hard and full the way he wanted. The ground was springy and soft under his feet. The scent of the damp earth and impending rain cast seductive notes in the air. Her palm met his chest, fingers clutching his shirt. “Stress food.”

He nodded in understanding. “Peanut butter and jelly. On toast. With an extra piece of bread in the middle. Another weakness.”

Lily made a noncommittal sound, her eyes locked on his mouth, fingers tightening with just enough pressure that her short nails dug harmlessly into his skin through the fabric of his shirt.

“Seems I’ve developed one more, though...” Garrett smoothed hair from her face, taking time to trace along the beautiful curve of her cheekbone, down alongside her ear to her neck. She shivered as he moved slowly to the rise of her collarbone. Oh, yeah, she was feeling him. She was into this.

“Black hair. Bright red lips. Pretty tattoos.”

“Oh,” she whispered, tilting her head for him to lean down and take her mouth. Garrett stepped closer to her, his hand reaching for her chin, when the sky suddenly let loose, dumping a torrent of rain straight down.

Lily’s eyes went wide. Garrett shrugged off the shock of the rain, cupped Lily’s face in his palms and pulled her fully against him. He half expected her to protest or struggle against the rain, but she sank into him, her right hand grabbing his wrist.

Her lips parted just enough to leave no doubt.

Lightning cracked in a brilliant line behind them, making them both jump. Cursing the weather, Garrett grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her to the gazebo. He should have been praising the rain, truth be told, because it was giving him an opportunity to stop this now, take a step back. He had more fire in his blood than he could ever remember having before—and that was saying something, considering the beautiful women he saw at the bar nearly every night.

He raked his fingers through his bangs, spinning to sit on the single bench in the middle of the gazebo. Lily was laughing, and the sound cut off in a heady gasp when he pulled her to sit across his lap.